Minority need for care rises

African-American untimely death rates rise in youth in staggering numbers, study says

A new study suggests suicide rates for African-American youth are skyrocketing and stand as the second leading cause of death.

Jagdish Khubchandani, a health science professor at Ball State University, found that suicide rates among black adolescents (13-19 years of age) increased by 60 percent for males and for females by 182 percent between 2001-2017.

“The Changing Characteristics of African-American Adolescent Suicides, 2001-2017,” was recently published in the Journal of Community Health where Khubchandani worked with James Price, a University of Toledo professor.

According to the study, 68,528 black males and 94,760 females made suicide attempts serious enough to warrant treatment by mental health professionals in 2017.

Khubchandani said firearms in the home poses the greatest risk for teens and must be the greatest focus of intervention.

“Research has shown that 75 percent of inner city primary grade elementary students know where their parents keep their handguns and children as young as two years of age have the tensile strength to pull the trigger of handguns,” he said. “A second form of protection against suicides in adolescents is having ready access to mental health care. African-American adolescents are at higher risk than the general population to encounter serious forms of violence.”

Ohio was among the top ten states in the country for adolescent black suicides between 2015-2017 according to the new study.

In tackling the problems of black mental health, the Mental Health, Addiction and Recovery Services Board of Lorain County has been collaborating with the Lorain County Urban League on the #HowICope campaign.

The collaborative, storytelling project launched in 2018 shares the narratives of the challenges of addressing mental health in the black community and the experiences of regular people.

In July, the board hosted a mental health fair at Lorain County Community College to raise awareness for minority communities in coping with a mental health condition and seeking help.

Statistics from the Ohio Department of Health’s “Ohio Violent Death Reporting System” indicate youth suicides are most common among non-Hispanic whites encompassing 8.4 per 100,000 among youth between the ages of 10-24. Black youth made up 5.8 per 100,000.

Ohio statistics show females were more likely to attempt suicide but 78 percent of youth who completed suicide were male.

In 86 percent of youth suicide cases, Ohio investigators were able to determine

the circumstances surrounding the death. These data offer further insights into the victims of youth suicide:

Mental/Behavioral Health:

• 44 percent had a known mental health diagnosis

• 27 percent were currently in treatment for mental illness

• 25 percent of victims had a depressed mood

• 5 percent were alcohol dependent

• 19 percent had another substance use problem. Current problems:

• 38 percent had an intimate partner problem at the time of death

• 21 percent had experienced a crisis in the past two weeks

• Other types of problems (e.g., school, financial, criminal) were much less common.

With schools being the leading provider of mental health services for youth, Khubchandani says there must be a greater emphasis on urban public schools providing adequate screening, treatment and referral services for adolescents with mental health disorders.

COURTESY OF THE OHIO DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH Statistics from the Ohio Department of Health break down suicide methods among Ohio youth between 2012-2014.